Parish and town councils matter. They are the democratic tier of local government nearest to the people and can significantly affect the quality of life in their communities. It is the membership organisation valued by the parish and town councils of Suffolk and is recognised as one of the best county associations in the country. The Association was set up in 1950 to provide specialist advice and support and has built up a strong reputation for its integrity and expertise in the county and in the national and local government arena. It speaks for, and is the respected route of communication to, other tiers of local government, national government and other partners. It also supports Parish Meetings.

There are 375 parish and town councils in Suffolk and 55 Parish Meetings. Over 95% of these are in membership of SALC.

Chief Executive's Team

Legal Advice

Parish and town councils are subject to specific and distinct law. SALC is the primary source of free and reliable legal and procedural advice to the Suffolk town and parish council tier. If your council had to seek advice through a solicitor it could cost in the region of £250 per hour. SALC has access to advice from the National Association of Local Council’s solicitors which, again, is free as part of your membership subscription.

Liaison, Influence & Representation

The Association has an important role in liaising with local, regional and national bodies to further the interests of member councils.

Additionally, it lobbies on and promotes important policy issues, including:

• Parishing unparished areas of Suffolk
• Supporting Quality Parish Status
• Lobbying for professionalism in parish councils. SALC has achieved a national syllabus for chairman’s training and a professional qualification for clerks, which continues to be promoted. Ongoing training for elected members is also an important policy commitment.
• Supporting devolved functions with funding.
• Calling for direct consultation on granting of HGV operators’ licences.
• Pressing for affordable homes for local people in every community with a proven need through a parish plan or Housing Needs Survey. This has helped achieve more affordable housing schemes. It was successful in gaining a reduction in the discount for second homes.
• Promoting use of rural brownfield sites for development to encourage more, properly paid, work for rural communities.
• Encouraging more safe footways and cycle ways in rural areas. SALC has also successfully
• supported Suffolk County Council on gaining additional funding for road maintenance.
• Encouraging sufficient precepts to create facilities and promoting elected councillors as community leaders.
• Lowering the age of election candidates to 18.
• Supporting the Code of Conduct’s 10 principles

SALC represents member councils interests in many ways, including through:

Brecks Project, Calor Suffolk Village of the Year Award, East of England Regional Assembly, GO-East liaison, Local Area Agreement Board, Local Strategic Partnerships, National Town & Parish Council Development Group, Regional county association groups, Rural Housing Advisory Group, SALC/Highways Liaison, SALC/Monitoring Officer Group, Suffolk ACRE Community Enterprise Board, Suffolk Rail Group, Suffolk Rural Partnership, Suffolk Strategic Partnership Board & the Suffolk Training Partnership

Advancement & Training

The Association provides particular support for Councils to progress and enhance their organisation and staff and their ability to represent the interests of their communities:

• Promotion and support for Quality Town & Parish Council Status including intensive training and free Certificate in Local Council Administration mentoring.
• Training and induction courses for clerks, councillors and chairmen
• Promotion and support to parish plans and initiatives to engage local communities
• Specialist seminars and workshops
• Sources funding to increase service to member councils
• Advice on community engagement
• Advice on employment issues and salaries

Information

The Local Councillor is published regularly to provide news, updates and advice to members. The Association also provides Fact Sheets, model documents, useful publications and an ordering service for key books.

How Do Member Councils Interact With Their Organisation?

In addition to their contact through their Chairman and Clerk, for legal advice and other services, individual councillors can directly contribute to and benefit from the work of SALC.

Area Committees meet regularly. The areas are divided using district council boundaries for Babergh, Forest Heath, St Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal. Waveney is split into three areas and Mid Suffolk is split into Mid Suffolk North and Mid Suffolk South.

Each Area committee elects three members to serve on the SALC Executive. Recommendations from the Area Committees are made to the SALC County Executive to ensure that the Association is member led. The Chief Executive attends most meetings to ensure regular contact with grass roots members.

Members gather at the SALC AGM

The SALC Executive Committee meets at the end of each round of Area Committees and considers issues raised by members both through the Area Committees and directly through the SALC office. The Chair of the SALC Executive is Cllr Rona Burt, Tuddenham St Mary Parish Council

The Larger Councils’ Group meets twice yearly to enable discussion between town councils and parishes with over 3000 electors. The Council (Larger) Officers’ Group (CLOG) meets regularly. It is an extremely successful forum for discussion for the 10 largest Councils. Both meet under the auspices of the Association.

© Suffolk Association of Local Councils